Gov. Branstad tells Sioux City YPs to prepare for failures

Gov. Terry Branstad urged young professionals to take a risk on start-up ventures at Monday’s third-ever Sioux City Young Professional Day, the Sioux City Journal reports:

“You’re going to have failures and defeats in your life,” Branstad told an audience of more than 75, dominated by professionals in their 20s and 30s. “Use that as a learning experience.”

Branstad told Siouxland YPs to consider Abraham Lincoln, who as a YP suffered his own failed startup (a general store) and lost several elections.

YPs will likely prove key in helping Branstad meet his 2010 campaign goal of creating 200,000 jobs over five years, Iowa Economic Development Director Debbie Durham said at the event. The job count currently at 60,000, according to the Journal. Durhamsaid the state needs to recruit young Iowa natives who’ve since left the state for other opportunities.

“We need to bring them home and have opportunities for them when they come back,” Durham said.

Connect with Juice

Juice is the definitive guide to being a 25- to 34-year-old in the Des Moines area. We'll tell you how to get the most out of your free time and the most out of your money. We'll let you know what is going on in the world around you, and we'll help set the agenda for making Des Moines a better place to live.